The drive from Auckland had been long, but the constant rain had led to a reduction in traffic, which made the drive to Tauranga very pleasant. Heading into Totara St, the weather clearly had no plans on changing, luckily the venue had invested in some covers to protect the punters from being lashed by rain in the outer areas. A reasonable sized venue, with both a mezzanine and floor level, two stocked bars and a kitchen, the site was well prepared for the evenings festivities. It should also be mentioned how incredible it is that all profits from this show were going to the local Cancer Society. Doors opened early due to the large number of artists on the bill, and shortly after 6pm, the opening band took to the stage.

You know it is going to be a big night when the rock crowd legend, a.k.a. the dancing man, a.k.a.the Nambasa guy, a.k.a. Bazza, or simply Barry, is in attendance. So for this review I’m going to go ahead and add a 0-10 “Barry Dancing factor” score to each act, to help you visualise whether Barry was completely motionless (0), up to slow dancing with some fancy footwork (4), all the way up to Barry’s full “windmill” dance (10).

Final headlining act was the final Auckland group for the night, Remote. A band that has now been active for over 21 years, their being labelled as competent is an understatement. Catching everyone’s attention by playing the Thunderbirds intro, they break into their set. So heavy. So thick. The skills of the lead guitarist Rob Mei were awe inspiring. Every solo or fill, had a number of mobile phones pointed at him to capture the moment. Andy D’s clean vocals were reminiscent of Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson, but his abrasive vocals were something else entirely. The overall sound had a Trivium vibe to it, but it was so much more emotive and passionate. Perhaps due to the real feeling and content of the lyrics, with one of their songs relating to depression, and Andy D throwing some hard stats on depression and suicide rates at the crowd, before offering his own friendship and ear to anyone that needs to talk. Inspiring technical skills that gives you shivers. BARRY DANCING FACTOR: 9. Another high scoring act that had Barry moving at the whims of the music.

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